Two Temporary Changes to the Profile and Amazon Capsule
Right now, our best estimate is it will take several months for the changes we made to work through. When we started with idle Hubs, I thought it would take two months, but things appear to be coming out very slowly.
When we look at the data, we don't see any correlation between having forums and QnA and traffic going up or down on Hubs.
I was looking at the top 1000 Hubs yesterday. There is also very little data that correlates in this group with Google's recent changes. The only thing that stood out to me in this group were the averages.
In the top 1000 hubs by traffic, they average 15 capsules, that includes 6 photos and 6 text capsules. We are analyzing larger data sets today. If anything jumps out we'll share it.Why would the number of capsules correlate with amount of traffic? HP has pushed this point in the past to the extent that hubbers stuff their hubs with capsules? Is this a case of a false link between correlation and cause and effect? Why should putting 1500 words in one text capsule be different from using 6 text capsules? Is this related to the number of H2 headings? It would be interesting to see the full details of your analysis including the other parameters. A simple examination of the SERPS for most search results such as "great beef recipes hubpages" or "saving money on power bills hubpages" shows that the ones at the top are not the ones with the highest number of capsules, images, polls and videos.
You're right - it could be a false link between cause and effect. Or it might not. Some possible explanations might be:
Additional capsules give additional H2 headings, just as you say, and these are picked up by G as keywords.
Internet readers are not studying a textbook, and won't bother to read and digest a 1500 word capsule. They'll leave and go somewhere that they can skim through and find what they need without reading it all.
Additional text capsules gives opportunity to add other capsules as well, keep them in sync with the text and keeping the page visually attractive. Again, a plus for most web searchers.
One of my recent hubs has, if I recall correctly, 23 capsules. A poll is there to promote time on page, but all the rest are useful to the reader. It is not "stuffed" with capsules; each one has a specific reason for being there. To introduce a new subtopic, with a header. Photos, spread throughout the hub rather than being jammed into one capsule. Amazon - same thing. Sidebars to draw interest and provide information not well fitted to the text. Video next to the text it is about.
Maybe that's the best way to write a hub, maybe not. Paul's data is just another very small piece to consider when making the decision of how best to make that hub.You an add multiple H2 headings within a single text capsule.
Yes, you can, and by doing so you will gain not only better keyword rating but can also break up the text by doing so. You still can't, however, place other capsules where they might do the most good.
I have used that method in the past and will do so again in the future where it works well and fits other capsules into the desired page format and arrangement. As I say, it's not a matter of using large numbers of capsules, it is a matter of producing the best possible page.You can but most people probably don't do that. Most people who use one text module probably just produce one long uninterrupted block of text which is quite off-putting to potential readers. People who use a lot of different capsules probably pay a lot more attention to producing a pleasing page layout, and it is possible that it is that, rather than the actual number of capsules that is doing the trick.
I might possibly be overestimating the importance of page layout, but I do wonder whether it might not be playing a big role in traffic. I did read a hub, can't remember by who now, which claimed that having a lot of "white space" on a page helps with traffic. Now that was just one person's observation, no idea if it is true, but one difference between squidoo and HP that hasn't been mentioned is that Squidoo lenses have a lot more "white space" whereas HP are quite compact.
I don't particularly like Squidoo, I struggle to find themes that are not too corny, but squidoo lenses seem a lot more "open" than hubs. Even their Amazon modules have more space in them. I think their subheadings might be bigger. It might be bizarre to think that this is why they seem to be doing better than this site, and this is just a hypothesis, no idea if there is any merit in it.
The way it could work is that readers, who actually hate to read, might find Squidoo lenses easier to take in. This might result in longer times on page, shorter bounce rate, perhaps even more social media shares. If Google pays attention to such things, I'm not sure if anybody knows for certain whether they do or not, but frankly they would be silly not to, this might result in Squidoo's better rankings.
Hubbers who use a lot of modules, many images, a movie, poll or a quiz, might produce nicer looking pages which users want to stay on longer, therefore they are rewarded.
Can I suggest that removing links to forum posts on the profiles would be a good idea, and could lift sub rankings by elevating link juice. Most people don't want this. Someone pointed out that squidoo's forum is on a separate domain. Why have these listings publically available on the profiles? What's the point when the forums are essentially internal?
Thanks, Paul, for the information. While your analyses are very much noted and appreciated, in the end is the individual hubber that must make a decision as to how to write a hub and this kind of data is not available to us. It might be interesting to look at the same thing in hubs from, say, 5,000 to 6,000th place in traffic.
I agree with janderson and make this request of HP administration as well. I would never have gone near a forum if I'd known there would be an external link. These should only be internal.
